Center for Chinese Business Studies(CCBS)

The University of Kitakyushu

  From July 5 (Wed.) to July 8 (Sat.), we accepted the Medical and Nursing Care Management Exchange Delegation from MEM(Master of Engineering Management) Education Center, Tsinghua University, China, and successfully carried out a training exchange program that included learning about the “Kitakyushu Caregiving Model”, the Exchange Delegation visits to several nursing care facilities, and visits to environmental facilities such as Eco-Town, which has received high international recognition as an environmental capital of Japan; the Nippon Steel Corporation Group, which has led the development of modern Japanese industry; and the production line of Yaskawa Electric Corporation, a manufacturer of industrial robots.

  Tsinghua University, founded in 1911 as the Tsinghua Xuetang, is one of China’s top science universities and is widely recognized as one of the top 100 universities in Asia (Times Higher Education Rankings). In 2012, a new master’s degree program in MEM Education Center was established to train senior engineering management personnel, and in 2020, a new curriculum of Medical and Nursing care management was added to the program, which aims to develop leaders with technical expertise and universal management skills for the Medical and Nursing care sector by providing an interdisciplinary curriculum that spans Medical and Nursing care, and Science and Engineering for professional managers and mid-level staff in related industries.

  Dr. Yu Ming, Vice Director of MEM Education Center, visited CCBS in 2017 for a hearing in preparation for the establishment of the new Medical and Health care curriculum. During the visit, he also asked our support for visiting exchange with Kitakyushu, known for being a leader city in advanced caregiving systems. In September of the following year, the overseas study program of K2BS involved partnering with the College of Management, National SUN YAT-SEN University in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and the Graduate School, Tsinghua University at their Shenzhen campus.In Shenzhen, we received support from Professor Zhang Wei, Director of MEM Education Center, Tsinghua University, who also provided a lecture and introduced local companies to K2BS.

  In the field of social security in China, various challenges, particularly the accelerating aging population compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, have exposed issues such as the weak coordination among healthcare and caregiving systems in local communities.The Tsinghua University delegation was keenly interested in the success of Kitakyushu’s efforts in caregiving, especially in the area of long-term care, and eagerly learned about the “Kitakyushu Caregiving Model” introduced by the city’s Health and Welfare Bureau and observed the on-site efforts of implementing facilities/welfare corporations. The distinctive features of the Kitakyushu Caregiving Model include reducing the burden on caregiving staff, improving the quality of care, expanding employment opportunities for older adults, and developing work improvement methods utilizing technologies like caregiving robots. It aims to create and promote a successful model of advanced caregiving through collaboration among academia, industry, government, and the community. Additionally, the exchange delegation also received a special lecture from the Japan Welfare Service Evaluation Organization (SEO foundation) on the structure of Japan’s long-term caregiving insurance system and the evaluation of long-term caregiving services, followed by an in-depth visit to a caregiving facility operated by an unique company which is integrated into local communities and specialized in supporting the independence of older adults, such as home nursing care, day services, and in-home caregiving support.

Introduction of the ”Kitakyushu Caregiving Model” by the Kitakyushu City’s Advanced Caregiving System Promotion Office

Director Masaki HOSHINOUCHI from the Advanced Caregiving System Promotion Office and Dr. Yu Ming, leader of the exchange delegation

Introduction of Japan’s Long-term Caregiving Insurance System and the Evaluation Scheme of caregiving services by President Fumiaki OKUZUMI and Director Hiroyo OKUZUMI from SEO Foundation

Visit to the caregiving corporation “Mukau no Sato” (reported by NHK on 7/5)

Visit to the Kitakyushu Branch of Caring Co.

Visit to Yaskawa Electric Corporation

Visit to Yahata Steel Works of NIPPON STEEL

Visit to the University of Kitakyushu, welcome speech by President Masato YANAI

Commemorative photo on the campus of the University of Kitakyushu